Associate Professor Ben Wadham

Ben is the Director of the Open Door: Veteran Transition, Integration, Wellbeing research initiative in the College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work. Open Door is an Australasian research hub that brings together veterans, scholars, and practitioners together around key research, service provision, and policy/legislation initiatives. Open Door is connected to other veteran research hubs across the five-eye nations.

Ben is the co-Deputy Director of Orama Research Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing. This role contributes to the development of an all college focus on wellbeing and resilience across health sociology, social work, clinical and social psychology.

As a Veteran, Ben's research is focused on the health and wellbeing of serving personnel and Veterans. He conducts sociological and criminological research on the ADF and DVA including institutional abuse in the ADF, veteran suicide, and veteran transition into higher education. Ben also researches men's violence prevention. His expertise on men and masculinities underpins this research.

Ben writes about the cultural history of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Of particular interest are military culture and crime and the military. He is currently Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Grant titled "Institutional Abuse and Organisational Reform within the ADF (1969-). Ben has led 3 recent grants investigating veteran transition and education. These studies explore how effective tertiary education is as a transition pathway.

Ben conceived of, and led, the development of the Military Academic Pathway Program (MAPP) at Flinders University, the only foundation course for veterans in Australia.

Current research projects also include male veterans and suicide funded by the Freemasons with the Men's Health and Wellbeing Research Centre. He is a CI on a Hospital Foundation grant led by Professor Sharon Lawn on female veteran wellbeing and military-civil transition.